Chapter 82 The basic reasons for the peaceful settlement of the Peking issue[1]

(February 1, 1949) It is worth noting the attitude of the reactionary Nanking Kuomintang government towards the peaceful settlement in Peking.The Central News Agency of the Kuomintang published a statement by General Fu Zuoyi[2] on January 22, which stated that the peaceful settlement of Peiping was aimed at "quickly shortening the war, achieving a peace that the people have agreed upon, preserving the industrial and commercial foundations and cultural relics, and revitalizing the country." No longer be harmed, in order to promote the early realization of complete peace in the whole country."On January 27, the Central News Agency published a statement from the Ministry of National Defense of the Nanjing government, saying: "In order to shorten the war in North China and achieve peace, so as to preserve the foundation and cultural relics of the old capital of Beiping, Commander-in-Chief Fu Zuoyi issued a statement on the 22nd. The proclamation announced a truce from 10:00 am on the 22nd. The majority of the national army in Pingshi immediately followed the instructions of the headquarters, withdrew from the urban area and moved into designated locations. A small part of the communist army has already entered the urban area. Suiyuan[3] Datong and Datong will also implement a truce.”

After the defeat, all hope is gone. A better way out is to reorganize the army out of the city, and let the People's Liberation Army and the People's Government peacefully take over the city defense and municipal administration. This is the basic reason for the peaceful settlement of the Peking issue.Why is Tianjin unwilling to do this? Shouldn't Tianjin's "industrial and commercial foundations and cultural relics" be preserved? Should Tianjin's "national energy" be damaged? Why should January 22 be "promoted for a complete national peace" It should not be realized on January 13th, so that the peaceful settlement in Tianjin cannot be realized? The basic reason is that General Fu Zuoyi still wants to fight.Tianjin was defeated, hundreds of thousands of people were disarmed within twenty-nine hours, Chen Changjie, Lin Weichou, Du Jianshi[4] and others were all captured, Peiping was isolated and hopeless, determined to take the second path and resolve it peacefully The possibility of the Peking problem arose from this.The People's Liberation Army captured Tianjin on the 15th, and on the 16th the three generals Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Nie Rongzhen[5], together with Generals Fu Zuoyi's representatives Deng Baoshan[6] and Zhou Beifeng[7], established a basic agreement on the peaceful settlement of the Peiping issue. In the days that followed many agreements were made on the details.General Zhou Beifeng was guided out of the city by Professor Zhang Dongsun[8] on January 8 to have a talk with General Lin Biao and others. This time he went out of the city for the second time.Isn't it obvious that the basic reason for the peaceful settlement of the Peking problem is the strength and victory of the People's Liberation Army?

Another reason is that the people of Peiping, including the working people, the bourgeoisie and the gentlemen, all desire a peaceful solution.On January 19, eleven representatives of the people of Peiping went out of the city to openly contact the People's Liberation Army. They were very satisfied with the leniency policy of the People's Liberation Army.The Military Headquarters of the 41st Army of the People's Liberation Army entertained the representatives and held a chat and feast.One of the representatives was He Siyuan, the former mayor of Beiping. He was the chairman of the provincial government of the Kuomintang in Shandong in the past. He had firmly opposed the People's Liberation Army. one.No matter how badly he's done in the past, he's finally done right this time.Another representative was Lu Fu, a member of the Legislative Council within the Kuomintang legal system.Another representative is Ms. Kang Tongbi of the Beiping Antiquities Preservation Agency.The rest are representatives of government-run civic groups.They are the expression of the so-called "people's consensus" in General Fu Zuoyi's statement on the 22nd when he said "peace achieved by the people's consensus".Regardless of all this, they finally represent the real public opinion. This is the same as the so-called "peaceful offensive" that the KMT's CC faction[9] instigated official councils, chambers of commerce, and trade unions in the southern provinces to vigorously clamor for in the past half a month. They are quite different, and one must not confuse the two.The recent local peace movements that have been brewing in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Wuhan were also instigated by the bourgeoisie and gentlemen. They should belong to the category of He Siyuan, Lu Fu, and Kang Tongbi, and were therefore opposed by Pan Gongzhan, a die-hard war criminal from the CC Department.

Another reason for the peaceful settlement of Peiping is that the nearly 200,000 Kuomintang troops, except for a few diehard elements, from soldiers to generals, are unwilling to fight.General Fu Zuoyi after the fall of Tianjin represented this sentiment, and made the determination to go out of the city and adapt.No matter how reactionary Fu Zuoyi was in the past, and how much the people of North China hated him, this matter was finally done right.As long as he moves in ways that are beneficial to the people's cause in the future, is willing to bow his head to the people, assists in the reorganization of the army, does not act as a hindrance, and no longer attempts to persecute the people and oppress the people, the People's Liberation Army has reason to ask the people Explain, pardon his war crimes and give him a new way out.

Why did the Nanjing government agree to do this? This is a manifestation of the national revolutionary upsurge and the collapse of the Kuomintang.They had to agree, just as they had to agree to negotiate on the Communist Party's Eight Peace Conditions[11].Forced by the people of the country, they are isolated, their army of two hundred thousand has done so, and they cannot disagree.This agreement is of great significance. There is a legal (joint with the Kuomintang's law) reason to follow the path of Peiping to solve the problems of the whole country, and they have no reason to object to doing so elsewhere.Although the Kuomintang diehards headed by Chiang Kai-shek are still preparing to "resist to the end", they will be completely and completely isolated, and their reactionary policies will be quickly smashed to pieces by the people's revolutionary wave.

Published according to Mao Zedong's manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is a commentary written by Mao Zedong for Xinhua News Agency.Published in "People's Daily" on February 3, 1949. [2] Fu Zuoyi, former commander-in-chief of the North China "Bandit Suppression" Headquarters of the Kuomintang Army, led more than twenty Wan Shoujun withdrew from the urban area of ​​Peiping to accept the reorganization.On January 31, Peking was peacefully liberated. [3] Suiyuan, that is, Suiyuan Province, see note [6] on page 82 of this volume.

[4] Chen Changjie (1905-1980), a native of Minhou, Fujian, was formerly the deputy commander of the Jintang Defense Zone of the Kuomintang Army and the commander of the Tianjin Garrison Command.Lin Weichou, born in 1904 in Tainan, Guangdong, was the deputy commander of the Tianjin Garrison Command of the Kuomintang Army and the commander of the 62nd Army.Du Jianshi (1906-1989), a native of Yangcun, Tianjin, was the former mayor of Tianjin under the Kuomintang government. [5] Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Nie Rongzhen were respectively the commander of the Northeast Field Army, the political commissar, and the commander of the North China Military Region.

[6] Deng Baoshan (1894-1968), born in Tianshui, Gansu.He was formerly the deputy commander-in-chief of the North China "bandit suppression" headquarters of the Kuomintang Army, and was Fu Zuoyi's peace negotiator at that time. [7] Zhou Beifeng (1903-1989), born in Yongji, Shandong.He used to be the director of the Land Division of the North China "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters of the Kuomintang Army, and was Fu Zuoyi's peace negotiator at that time. [8] Zhang Dongsun (1886-1973), born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.At that time, he was the head of the Peking Branch of the China Democratic League and a professor at Yenching University.

[9] The CC Department refers to the pro-Chiang clique headed by Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu within the Kuomintang. [10] Pan Gongzhan (1895-1975), born in Wuxing, Zhejiang.At that time, he was the chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council of the Kuomintang. [11] Refers to the eight conditions for peaceful negotiations with the Kuomintang put forward by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in his "Statement on the Current Situation" on January 14, 1949. See note [3] on page 245 of this volume.